Thursday, May 25, 2017

25 May 1934 - The Valise Derby

On 25 May 1934, a doctor's bag made a surprise appearance in a controversial derby between Peñarol and Nacional, nicknamed "the valise derby."

The Montevideo rivals were playing in the final of the Copa Uruguaya. With the match scoreless, a Peñarol player sent in a cross that carried past the box and out of bounds. But the ball struck a medical bag belonging to the Nacional physio and rebounded back onto the pitch, when Peñarol put it into the back of the net. The Nacional players immediately protested the goal, with two of them getting sent off by the referee before he eventually disallowed it.

The confusion delayed the game long enough that it could not be completed before dark, so the remainder of the match was postponed until 27 August. When they resumed, the undermanned Nacional held Peñarol to a draw, forcing a subsequent replay, which Nacional won 3-2.